Huge waves crashed against the coast in the district of Kendrapara on Friday, submerging at least two seaside villages and affecting around 200 families. Under the impact of the deep depression formed over northwest Bay of Bengal, huge sea waves inundated two villages under Satbhaya panchayat of Kendrapara district. Ten to 12 feet high waves, churned up by strong winds, marooned Kanhupur and Satbhaya villages damaging several houses including a primary school building, Sasmita Das, Sarpanch of Satbhaya Panchayat, said.

The sea had eroded several feet of land towards the village, submerging the 1200-year-old Panchubarahi temple and two bore wells in the locality, she said. Das said, majority of the people had taken shelter on a large sand dune and in the nearby panchayat building while some had shifted to a neighbouring village. The area had remained cut-off because of the inundation, she said.

Though there were a cluster of seven villages in the panchayat, five of them had been decimated by the sea over the last few decades. Damages were also reported from the port township of Paradip as scores of houses had been badly affected. Strong wind had flattened some of the dwellings while scores of trees had been uprooted.

Around 250 such dwelling had been affected in Badapadia, Nuabazar, Sandhakuda, Noliasahi and Nehru Bungalow areas, the local administration said. The affected people had taken shelter in educational institutions, they said. (PTI)